Official Description: A famous voice teacher. A mysterious piano prodigy. Backstabbing classmates. Music school is competitive, and aspiring singer Bella Swan is determined to succeed. Hard work she can handle, but who expected music school to be dangerous? A story in 3 acts
Have you ever read a fic and felt like it was written for you? I've only read the first 2 chapters of Philadelphic's Canzone and I already know that I'm in love.
Everything about it - the world in which it takes place, the characters, the musical references.
One of my favorite things about fic is when characters are able to communicate to one another through music, and how reading on this electronic medium allows me to access the music in question, and feel like I'm brought into that connection.
Bella walks in on Edward playing Debussy's Doctor gradus ad Parnassum.
It's become my secret ritual, though I always wonder exactly when he becomes aware of my presence. I slip in the same door I came in the first day, in the balcony, making as little noise as possible. Every week I come a little bit earlier, just to listen to him play. Sometimes he's at the organ, but mostly he's on the grand piano, usually playing Debussy. It's uncanny how often his selection matches my mood perfectly.
Today's selection is a playful piece, and I'm enchanted. I find myself leaning on the balcony railing, my head resting on my arms as I watch in fascination. His fingers sprint in rapid patterns up and down the keyboard.
It's so fast I can't even follow it with my eyes, but I'm trying. The piece is over far too soon and he's smiling at me for a change.
"What's that one called?" I ask, encouraged by the smile. "Is it Debussy, like the last two times?"
"Yes. It's called Doctor Gradus ad parnassum, from Children's Corner. Did you like it?" He began to play it again, fingers fluttering over the keys fast as hummingbird wings.
"I always like what you play," I answer truthfully, "This one just seems so sweet and playful."
"Come down and listen closer," he pauses as I gather my things.
I don't hesitate for some reason, and within a moment I'm sitting on the steps leading to the stage a few feet away from him.
"Why do you always sit up there?" he nods at the balcony.
"I don't want to bother you," I confess, "but I like to hear you play."
He frowns for a moment, but his hands begin the playful pattern, this time at a slower pace. Finally inhales, face smoothing as if savoring the moment.
"You don't bother me much. You're so very quiet. I like it," he sounds like he's still making up his mind. "You can come closer. I won't bite."
I laugh, and resolve to be quiet enough for him not to mind my presence. I close my eyes while he plays, to try to shut out his beauty, but the moment I do, it's like I can feel the flutter of his fingers on my skin. As the sound surrounds me, he seems even closer to me than he was when I had my eyes open. When the music stops he is back to his usual, remote self.
And this is just the beginning of this epic story. I can't wait for more! This Bella is so joyful, even in the face of tremendous challenges. And this Edward is mysterious and brilliant. I'm even enjoying Alice and Jasper in their supportive roles.
What really sets this fic apart for me, as I said in my first review:
But it's things like her acknowledgement of a "secret pulse of complexity" and the work ethic that her Voice Professor asserts, and Jasper/Alice's encouragement of finding balance between passion, emotion, and technical skill - all of these things tap into something that is at once very specific to the experience of someone studying music, and simultaneously something that is universal to anyone who lives for that place that music can take you that is beyond the mundane and into the magical.
Must go consume more of La canzone della Bella Cigna!
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